Wine & Food Workshops

Matching wines with foods seems a daunting prospect to many, but it needn't be. Become an expert in the useful, and very popular art of matching perfectly what you eat to what you drink.

The business of putting together foods and wines, like that of choosing clothes, is full of rules and traps for the unwary which can be so daunting that one could be forgiven for dismissing them all and eating and drinking what you like.

Some of the traps are real though - like sardines and claret taken together taste downright nasty - and some of the rules, provided they are not taken too seriously, can be quite handy.

You'll learn the basic principles that govern matching wine with food as well as the components that make up the taste of both food and wine so you can apply these principles when entertaining at home or eating out...

We’ve all been to wine and cheese evenings but matching the two isn’t as easy as it sounds. When you get it right, the combinations are lip smacking. Port and Stilton is the classic wine and cheese pairing but have you thought about goat’s cheese and Sauvignon Blanc or cheddar and Cabernet?

If not, and you have a weakness for wine and cheese (who doesn’t?), switch off Saturday Morning Kitchen and come and titillate your taste buds at the Academy.

In this one-day workshop we will guide you through some familiar names such as Soave, Chianti, Brunello and Amarone which have seen a transformation in style, vastly different to those we remember from the old days of mass-production.

In addition you will be introduced to some exciting new wines styles which are emerging, mainly from the South of Italy. In an International marketplace full of different interpretations of the familiar Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay style of wine, come discover the unique flavours associated with Italy's indigenous grape varieties and be ahead of the crowd at your next dinner party...

'A Country’s cuisine is its landscape in a cooking pot' said the Catalan writer Josep Pla. There was never a truer word written about Spain.

We aim to awaken and enliven your appetite for Spain’s variety, the countless facets of nature, culture and cuisine. The great range in climate is a sure sign that this country has more than just one unified culinary tradition: the cool, damp northwest produces a very different food from the constantly mild Mediterranean or the sparse plateau of central Spain, with its hot summers and icy winters.

Our goal is to unfold the true wealth of Spanish wine and cuisine through a delightful and sensual gastronomic tour of the country’s regions and traditions.

If you enjoy the good things in life, this workshop is for you! We’ll take you on a culinary tour of France and you don’t event have to book a flight! If you love France and its fantastic variety of food and wine, this workshop will aim to acquaint you with the super stars and also the lesser known, but equally fantastic regions.

Indian food is now the number one food with the British when they eat out and Chinese comes a close second. Coupled with the explosion of sushi bars across the UK and with the number of fine dining Thai restaurants ever rising, the question of whether to order wine or stick to the regional brews such as sake, beer, lassi or fruit juice is increasingly a choice facing diners.

Our Oriental Wine and Food Matching Workshop will serve a five course menu; Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai and Indian served with their traditional drink and compare these to different wine styles to see which best complements the style of food.

You'll learn the basic principles that govern matching wine with food as well as the components that make up the taste of both food and wine so you can apply these principles when entertaining at home or eating out...